Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, data, music, and so on. A wireless communication network may provide communication for a number of communication devices.
Many communication devices with single microphone inputs have the ability to provide an audible sidetone signal to the user. Sidetone is the term used in telephony for the feedback of a microphone signal to the speaker signal in a handset or headset. When a user hears his/her own attenuated voice, he/she knows that his/her voice is being transmitted. Returning a reduced signal to an ear that is covered by an earpiece allows the user to hear a normal amount of voice as when talking without an earpiece to his ear. This gives the user a certain sense of comfort.
Communication devices having a single microphone may eventually be replaced with communication devices that have multiple microphones. Multiple microphone source separation algorithms allow for better differentiation between a speech signal and a non-speech (non-stationary noise) signal. With an increase in the number of microphones in operation on a communication device during a phone conversation, more audio signals are captured from multiple locations by the additional microphones. Providing a sidetone signal as done with a single microphone communication device may not be desirable in certain situations.